Beyond Mischief - Deleted Scenes
by CurtisMcQueen8
Summary: Alright, I have decided to share a few scenes, which I have written for my main fic but then discarded for various reasons. Some of them are mere scraps of conversation, which I find too funny not to share, some are entirely written and edited 3k word scenarios that never made it into the final version because I changed my mind. I hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**This is how I originally envisioned chapter twenty-five to end but then decided against it for reasons I can no longer remember. I suppose I thought they would have had it too easy if the program had just allowed them a glimpse into the mind of Thanos. Also, Loki's breakdown might have been a bit too much.  
**

* * *

"Ha!" Tony exclaimed.

"What?" Rocket asked with a wary look at the screen. Nebula drew closer and so did the others.

"What did you do?" asked Steve.

"He converted the algorithm," Bruce said and Thor saw that the diagram Shuri had defended so fiercely earlier was now looking like a giant digital purple onion.

"Layers," Shuri murmured. "Who would have thought that this is possible?"

"Hey, you laid all the groundwork," Tony assured her. "I just made a few modifications."

"Start it," Valkyrie demanded.

The screen sprang to life and showed Loki in his Asgardian form, who was standing next to a cabin in the middle of a green grassland surrounded by steep, forested hills. The picture zoomed in and Thor could see the tears shimmering in his brother's eyes, his face screwed up in profound sadness.

"I think you can go back a little," said Loki through clenched teeth.

"No, pause," commanded Steve and, naturally, Shuri heeded the captain's order above Loki's. The image froze, capturing the pain in his brother's eyes for everyone to see.

"What is going on there?" Steve demanded. "Did you meet Thanos in that dream? And why don't you look like you do now?"

Loki exhaled, every muscle in his body visibly tensing into flight mode. "This is nothing but an astral projection of myself," he said quietly. "I suppose my mind hasn't yet adjusted to my Jotun reflection."

Steve narrowed his eyes. "But why did you—"

Thor suppressed the impulse to level the scepter he was still holding at the computer to prevent it from further revelations. "Just go back," he ordered and this time, Shuri obliged. The imagery flickered once more and different images too blurry to make out jerked across the screen before they coalesced into a bricolage of crying humans, their mouths agape in horror as their silent screams filled the air. The image caused to the screen to freeze, and for much longer this time.

"Is that … the Snap?" Bruce whispered, aghast.

"Go back," Steve said softly, his voice breaking.

The next thing they saw was Wanda's pained expression when she tried to destroy the Mind Stone implanted in Vision's forehead, tonelessly whispering how much she loved him. Going back further, they suddenly had to lay eyes on Wanda's naked body wrapped up in blankets of pristine white, moaning softly.

"Further back," Tony yelled, eager to rewind.

Shuri, who seemed even more disturbed than any of the others by what they had just seen, suddenly pressed the buttons on her keyboard much more violently and images of Vision, Ultron, Sokovia and the visions Wanda had given to the Avengers sped across the screen in a blur.

"Further back," Tony ordered and when Shuri complied, Clint and Erik Selvig inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility came into view, the image of them coalescing with memories of Barton's family inside a house awash with light and of Selvig teaching Jane, both of them huddled together over an open book.

Clint suppressed a sob.

"We're almost there," Steve mumbled. "Just a little further back."

Shuri tapped her keys one last time and then they saw an image of Thanos sitting on a throne cobbled together with pieces of rock, floating above an Asteroid belt silhouetted against the endless darkness of the universe. The image partly dissolved into the image of a much younger Loki in a cave, his body pinned to a wall of rock with chains around his neck, wrists and ankles. He was wearing his Asgardian attire—olive green and brown armor with golden chest plates and a dark green cape—and his eyes were closed, his chapped lips standing slightly apart, his forehead bathed in sweat, his greasy hair sticking out in all directions. The image was zooming in and an alien voice from somewhere outside the picture sizzled, "Don't you have enough yet, Asgardian?"

Loki drew a sharp breath as the Loki on the screen answered, his voice barely more than a rasp. "I don't … know," he whispered, his breath hitching, "where the Tesseract … is buried."

"You are lying," replied the alien voice, the body belonging to it finally coming into view. "I can still smell the stench of your magic. You safeguarded the information."

"That's the Squidward guy," Tony mumbled.

"The information is locked inside your wretched mind," the alien continued. "And I will get it out of there, as true as I'm standing here."

Thor drew closer to Loki, looping his arm around his brother and squeezing his shoulder as the alien placed his palm on Loki's cheek on the screen, chanting a spell in a language unfamiliar to Thor. The Loki beside him stifled a sob as the Loki on the screen cried out in pain, eyes bulging, lips trembling. "Stop," he whimpered.

"Loki," Thor whispered. He tried to pull him into a hug but Loki violently jerked away.

"Are you _satisfied_ now?" Loki sniveled as the alien continued to torment him with words and mind bolts on screen, causing his projection to cry out in agony, tears streaming down its face. "Is that what you wanted?" He focused the Avengers, who all looked beyond horrified. "Is that what you …" The words choked in his throat and he swayed slightly.

"Loki!" Thor was beside him in an instant, holding him up.

"Is that … what they … what they wanted," Loki whispered, his voice small and shaky.

"No, of course not," Thor assured him. He tried to pull him into a hug once more and this time, Loki did not recoil. Instead, he crumbled into the embrace and succumbed to convulsive sobbing. "I-I c-can't re-remem-mem-ber," he wailed. "I-I j-just—"

"Shhhshhshsh," Thor whispered, aghast, cradling his little brother's trembling body close to his chest. "You don't have to. It's alright." He felt the tears clawing at the back of his own throat as he held Loki like that, feeling the sobs tearing through his brother's body beneath his arms. He looked up and saw that most of his friends had averted their gazes, except for Tony, who was staring at them with his lips standing slightly open.

"H-he should h-have just k-killed me," Loki blubbered out.

"No," whispered Tony.

Thor pressed Loki closer. "Don't you say that, brother," he whispered, his own voice vibrating with the tears he was trying to hold back. "I am so glad you are here. Please … Don't _ever_ say that again."


	2. Chapter 2

**That is a scene that I originally placed somewhere between chapter 32 and chapter 33, before I decided to leave them all unconscious because, well, more angst.**

* * *

Unfortunately—or maybe, fortunately, but he would have been dammed if he had been able to tell the difference at that moment—Thor also saw that the Bifrost had teleported the frozen corpse of Thanos to Midgard with them, which was now leaning precariously against one of the trees that separated the Avengers facility from the nearby river.

"Didn't you say this kind of ice can only be melted by the fires of Muscle—whatever?" Tony asked eventually. He was lying on his back, eyes half-closed, his left iron-gloved hand still clasped around the pulp he had made of his right.

"Muspelheim," Valkyrie answered quietly, breathlessly. "And yes."

"Nice," Tony remarked on a sigh of exasperation.

"What is it that ails you so, Man of Iron?" Loki enquired on a soft chuckle even though he was still lying on his back as well, his eyes closed and his entire body, Thor surmised, drained by the vast amount of magic he had conjured during the past hours. "Are you averse to what your people commonly refer to as Modern Art?"

"I swear to God if you make one more wisecrack," Steve gasped but, curiously, the directive sounded almost endearing and not at all hostile.

"Which one," came Loki's witty reply.

"What do you mean 'which one'?" Steve repeated.

"Which God?" Loki clarified, which elicited a genuine laugh from Captain America. Thor found himself releasing a breath he was not aware he had been holding.

Valkyrie was the first to sit up, followed by Nebula, who was glancing around, her eyes searching for the gauntlet. "What _was_ that?"

"Are we doomed?" Pepper asked.

Loki took a deep breath before he tried to prop his body up on his elbows but now that all the adrenaline flooding through his veins had ebbed away, he failed and sank back to the ground. A nervous chuckle escaped his lips and, knowing how much his brother hated it to find himself in such a vulnerable physical position, Thor felt his heart swell with sympathy.

He cleared his throat to speak just as Loki whispered, "I cannot be entirely sure, I am afraid, but the Mind Stone …" His voice trailed off, his eyes flying open. "_Where_ is the scepter?!"

"It's right here," said Valkyrie. "Relax."

"Alright, alright," Steve conceded. He scrambled to his feet and slowly crossed what little distance there was between them. Loki raised an eyebrow at the other man's approach and heaved himself to his feet with what seemed like a tremendous effort to Thor. Steve held out his hand towards Loki and his brother squared his shoulders before he took it hesitantly. Thor's heart made a leap of joy when it registered with him that Loki had finally proven himself enough to become the beneficiary of Captain America's respect.

"We owe you both an apology and a thank you," said Steve, firmly shaking his brother's Jotun hand. His lips pinched tight for a moment but he did not recoil at the touch.

Loki tried his best to keep his lips from breaking into a smile. "No need to get overly sentimental, Captain," he replied.

Steve frowned at this and then, suddenly, let go of Loki's hand with a jerk, his jaws clenching as he inspected his hand with an expression of disappointment and anger. "What did you—"

Loki cleared his throat. "It is a Jotun thing, I am afraid," he said, shrugging an apology. "I meant you no harm. But it just so happens that we tend to give other beings frostbites if we touch them, whether we want it or not."

Steve blew out a breath. "That is …" He seemed to think of an adjective for a second and settled on, "Unfortunate."

Loki grimaced at him. "You have no idea."


	3. Chapter 3

**This is a scene I originally planned for chapter 31 in the middle of the battle on Hélgidomur. I don't remember why I decided against writing it that way but I am quite fond of the exchange between Loki and the Avengers, so I am gonna share it with you. The last part I pretty much used exactly like this in the final version but I will leave it here anyway.**

* * *

"Let me create a reality where his minions are collectively immobilized," Loki mumbled as he tried to decimate the titan's army with the magic of the Reality Stone but to his great dismay, nothing happened.

"Is the Stone too weak or are you too weak?" Valkyrie enquired breathlessly, her eyebrows shooting up.

"I suppose we are _both_ a little exhausted," Loki conceded.

"This is about the worst time to get exhausted," Stark pointed out unnecessarily. "Just _do_ something!"

Loki trawled through his mind for the possibilities and eventually said, "I suppose it is time for what you mortals call plan B," as he summoned a golden dome around them that was similar to the shield that used to protect Asgard from the attack of its enemies.

They all sighed with relief before they started firing suggestions at each other, one of which was to just summon the Bifröst to teleport them all back to safety.

"No." Loki shook his head. "If we do that inside of this dome, its energy might fry you. If we do it outside, we might teleport his whole army with us and, truth be told, allowing the enemy access to the Rainbow Bridge is a mistake I would rather not repeat," he said sourly.

"How mature of you," Valkyrie noted.

"Why, what happened?" Pepper asked.

"Long story," said Thor. "But it hardly matters. We are here now and we are all together. Let us finish this son of a bitch."

"I am not trying to be overly pessimistic here," said Stark, "but last time, there were six of us against him on Titan and we still lost. Now it's twelve of us against his entire army. How do you suppose we win?"

"Last time, he had four Infinity Stones," Nebula reminded him.

"Now, he has none and we have two," Valkyrie added. "The luck is on our side."

"He has an _army_," Shuri gasped.

Unable to resist the urge to allude to their conversation on Stark Tower all those years ago, Loki jested, "And you have a Hulk. Well, half of a Hulk. A metal Hulk."

"Oh, shut the fuck up," the engineer grumbled just as Bruce snorted a mortified, "Thank you very much."

"Come on, Stark, you are the norndamned Avengers, are you not?" Loki went on, his lips curling into a smile as his gaze slid to Rogers, then to Bruce, then to Barton and the Widow. "Since when do you flinch from an army? You fought the Chitauri in New York. You fought Ultron's army in that forsaken Slavic country. You fought the Black Order in Wakanda. Why do you falter now?"

_Because of the traumatic aftermath of the Snap, probably,_ his inner voice replied.

The Avengers stared at him in genuine confusion but Thor rewarded his little brother with a proud smile. "Loki's right. Let us fight, my friends."

"Hell, yes!" Rocket exclaimed.

Rogers and Stark nodded their hesitant agreement.

Loki giggled softly. "I guess it is 'Avengers Assemble' for you, then!" he shouted in Captain America's voice.

Rogers blew out an annoyed breath but said nothing. They all moved into position, forming a circle. Thor wielded his axe, thunder crackling all around it. They all positioned themselves in a circle, aiming their weapons at different spots outside the shield.

"Alright, drop it, brother," Thor demanded and they all surged forward into battle.

[...]

She stormed towards her adoptive father in a fit of rage and Loki took off after her. Thanos fought off Nebula's attack with his giant sword and then grabbed her by the neck, lifting her off the ground with his giant purple hands as he had done with him on the Asgardian refugee ship.

"Let her go!" Loki screamed, firing another blast of Reality Stone magic at him. The titan staggered under the impact and released the grip on his daughter, who slumped to the ground with a hollow thud.

Thanos scrunched up his nose. "You think you are a worthy opponent now?" he spat. "I can still smell the fear on you, Asgardian."

"How many more times do you have to pry open my mind before you understand that I am _not_ Asgardian?" Loki growled and hurled a wave of water against him that froze him into a cocoon, leaving only his head sticking out.

Thanos hissed and struggled against it, cracking the ice. The more he struggled, the more water Loki hurled into his direction, thickening the blanket of ice until Thanos could no longer move. "In contrast to you, I have changed! I found self-acceptance. You are still delusional, thinking yourself a God when all you really are is a _disgrace_!"

Next to him, Nebula had risen to her feet, her fingers tightly curled around the hilt of her sword. When Loki nodded towards her, the cyborg lunged forward with a yell, pulling the weapon over her head. "This is for Gamora!" she howled as she drove the blade deep into her father's throat, right through his Adam's apple.

Loki stood mesmerized, watching Thanos struggle, his face warping with pain and terror for a few agonizing moments before the spark of life in his eyes finally went out. Tears of relief sprang to Loki's eyes and he felt a weight lifting off his chest. The sensation made him so dizzy that he sank to his knees. He heard Nebula dry-heave next to him but did not find it in himself to look up. It was over. It was finally over.

Well, actually, it was not truly over. Behind them, the Avengers were still facing the titan's army and none of the Chitauri looked remotely tired.


	4. Chapter 4

**I was looking through and rereading some of my documents in the Beyond Mischief folder on my laptop earlier (procrastinating the editing of chapter 42, hey!) and found this scene, which I originally planned for the plane ride back to New York when I still thought that Thor was truly gonna confess everything after telling himself that he would. But then I came up with the idea of him releasing a lightning bolt and the story took on a new direction.**

* * *

Out of nowhere, Thor heard Frigga's voice from afar, soothing like the gurgle of a small stream on a warm spring day. _You are a miserable liar, my love_. He saw her tender smile in his mind's eye, almost felt the gentle touch of her warm hand caressing his cheek. _Your heart is too good for lies and that is a wonderful thing_. Thor looked at Loki, who, despite his Jotun form, had reminded him of their mother when he had smiled the first genuine smile Thor had seen on his lips in a long time the night before. How could he ever expect to cut a better figure than his father if he led his brother further down the same path of lies, deceit and pretense that had destroyed their entire family? If he led his friends down with them? No, he could not do this, not anymore, not to any of them. He would not take a single step further. Thor harrumphed. "Yeah, about that." He waited until everyone was looking at him. "There is one last thing you need to know."

Valkyrie grimaced. "What _now_?"

Thor looked at Loki and bit his lip. "I kind of made another mess bringing you back and I need your help to clean it up."

"An_other _mess?" Valkyrie enquired. "How much more of a mess can you make in less than twenty-four hours?"

"He didn't defeat Hela," Loki deduced instantly. Of course, he did. He was too smart for his own good. "I knew it."

"No, I didn't. I made a bargain with her."

"_You_ made a bargain?" Loki chuckled weakly. "And how did that go down, brother?"

"Not so well, to be honest," Thor admitted. "I offered her my soul in return for yours." Loki's red eyes opened wide. Thor inhaled deeply to steady himself. "And that of one of my friends."

Next to him, Valkyrie's mouth opened in surprise. "You did _what_? _Whose_?"

"Not yours. A mortal, human soul. She was quite specific about that."

"Thank God," Rocket mumbled. Nebula shot him a derisive glance. Bruce's face turned ghastly pale. Tony was just standing there, gaping at him with an expression of pure disbelief stamped across his face. Pepper spoke first. "Let me just … You sacrificed one of our souls to be tortured by the Goddess of Death in hell after we die, just so your brother can live?" she asked, her face going white with terror. When Thor nodded, she leaned against the wall, her fingers looping around the pendant of her necklace. "This is too much." Her voice cracked. "It's too much."

Tony pulled her into his arms. "It's okay. We're gonna get through this," he whispered but the fear in his eyes belied his reassurance.

"I am deeply sorry," Thor offered. "I know this isn't gonna change anything and you have every right to hate me. Believe me, I feel beyond guilty, but I was desperate. I thought I could somehow come up with something that might help me get out of this but I can't think of anything and believe me, if I could somehow—"

"You're such an oaf," Loki cut in on his lousy apology. His brother gaped at him, his lips dark blue slightly open, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. "You've lived for one and a half millennia. You should have access to the knowledge and wisdom beyond measure. How can you still have the intellectual capacity of a loaf of bread when you are forced make decisions under pressure?" He smiled weakly. "No offense."

Despite the intractability of the situation, Valkyrie grunted.

"Just think about what kind of bargain this is, brother. Hela would never have exchanged my soul for only two souls in return. Why would she do that if she could have asked you for the souls of a hundred Asgardians or a thousand mortals? Just think, Thor. She definitely tricked you."

"This is getting better and better," Pepper murmured.

"She did not trick me," Thor said softly. "There is a way to get out of this. If I return you to her, she will spare our souls. Which is what she actually wants. She wants you back and I tried to make her believe that I was gladly going to give you back to her after you helped me clean up unfinished business. She wins either way. If I return you, she will have you back and if I don't, she will have my soul that will by then be corrupted by guilt and agony over making the wrong choice." He felt tears clawing at the back of his throat and tried to smile through them.

Loki's lips parted. "And by return you mean—"

"Kill you."

His brother flashed him one of those loathsome crazy smiles when the last piece of the puzzle clicked into place. "And let me guess, she gave you four weeks to make your choice?"

Thor nodded.

Loki nodded weakly. "Why would she want you to kill me?"

"You mean, apart from the fact that she's a sadistic, murderous bitch who thrives off the suffering of others?" Valkyrie provided.

"She's been inside your head, Loki. She knows about …" Thor let his voice trail off and gestured towards himself and then to his brother with his hand. "She figured it would make for a great …" He indicated his head.

Loki laughed a desperate laugh. "I think I understand."

"I don't," Rocket noted but no one paid attention to him.

"I still can't believe you put yourself in that position," Loki whispered into the silence that began to fill up the cabin of the aircraft.

"Neither can I," Tony agreed in a raw, alien voice.

"I can," Nebula said. "What kind of a brother would he be if he hadn't made that choice? I would do the same for Gamora in an instant."

"So Gamora is your sister," Loki concluded.

"She _was_ my sister, yes. Thanos murdered her in cold blood as a sacrifice for the soul stone." Nebula's eyes were empty but her voice was trembling with rage when she spoke. "And just like Thor I would not hesitate to give my life or any of yours for hers."

"That's really reassuring," Bruce pointed out. A melancholic smile scurried over his face. "You know, I remember a time when the Avengers left their status of a chemical mixture ready to explode behind and became a group of friends who had each other's back but it seems we're back to square one where I might end up with a knife in my back any time."

"You've been gone a long time, Bruce," Steve answered grimly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi again. Yes, I am still procrastinating. Duh. This scene was originally to take place after the crash on the ice in the middle of chapter 18 before I decided to have Loki unconscious for fourteen hours in order to be able to write his conversation with the stones in the dreamscape. Don't you just love how much goes to waste when you write a story? ... NOT. But, at least, this might give you an idea why it takes me so long to update every time because the perfectionist in me regularly forces me to write out up to three different scenarios before I can decide on the one I am most satisfied with.  
**

* * *

"For what it's worth, I truly am sorry, too, Stark," said Loki softly. "I did not mean to ridicule the losses you suffered." He wiped his nose with the back of his hand and his gaze lingered on the viscosity and the dark color of his blood. "And I am sorry I destroyed your hometown and put you through tremendous psychological hardship but, just in case Thor has not told you, I actually _died_ trying to make up for my past misdeeds. I was _dead_, Stark_. _And just so you know, dying is a more than unpleasant experience, and so is being tortured."

Tony's Adam's apple bobbed as he processed that information. Loki was still swaying slightly, his breathing still heavy, and it took everything Thor had inside of him to not kneel down again, steady him and humiliate him even more. Loki touched the scars on his torso and grimaced. "And it really is not my fault that I just can't seem to stay dead." He lowered his gaze, eyes half-closed. "I guess I still have a part to play in this story."

"I guess we all do," Tony agreed.

Loki smiled wanly. "I don't know what you know about my powers but part of my magic comes from the Reality Stone—which is how I shapeshift, for example—and my telekinetic abilities were greatly enhanced by the Mind Stone's influence over me. I used them both just now and I …" His voice trailed off and he faced Thor. "I understand it now, why I'm not regaining my strength. I thought I would feel better after sleeping but I …" He paused for breath. "I did, shortly, but it seems that every time I use my powers, I just … It's the stones, Thor. I can't use my magic anymore. Illusions are … They aren't so … demanding but using the power of the stones …"

Thor put his hand on Loki's shoulder. "Take your time, brother."

"How much time … do you … think … we have," gasped Loki. "I told you, the stones were … revolting. They … talked to me." He had everyone's attention now. Iron Man, Nebula, Valkyrie and Pepper had all squatted down around them, forming a circle with Rocket being the only one standing. "They are corrupted … they are corrupting … everyone who … uses them …"

"Why?" Tony asked.

"Because Thanos … lied to them." Loki's eyes closed and he swayed again. Thor steadied him as well as he could without looping an arm around his shoulders. "He told them that he had the good of the universe in mind."

"That's always been his goal," Nebula insisted. "For as long as I can remember."

"It's always been a lie, then. A lie he told himself … What he truly wanted was to inflict pain … because he believed … still believes … that only pain will bring forth true … strength. This was not about resources, saving lives, or ensuring flourishing. This was about causing pain and suffering so that the half that remains will get stronger when they have suffered through this. They will be hardened, maybe even deadened … and he will be the one who created them."

"How can you know this?" Nebula asked.

"Because he's been inside my head." Loki smiled weakly. "But you can't expect to expose someone's thoughts without exposing a few of your own …" A tear spilled out of his eye and crystallized halfway down to his chin. "But that's not how the stones work … You cannot lie to them. They will test you and if you betray them, you are likely to pay the price … And he betrayed them all. All of them at once, with a single snap of his fingers." Loki breathed out heavily. Thor could feel his body give out under his fingers. "You need to rest, brother."

"I need to finish this." Loki forced his eyes open. "They're screaming … Those stones, they are still alive and they refuse to be … used … anymore. Hela might have taken my … appearance but she … she didn't take it all … My magic …"

"What's he talking about?" Tony interjected.

"I'll explain later," Thor snapped, his voice sounding more hostile than he had intended.

"Last night, they were still asleep but now they are furious. They won't let me use it anymore … They're punishing me … They will punish everyone who … Nobody can … Do you understand what that means?" Loki closed his eyes again.

"Thanos can't use them anymore either," Tony concluded. "They are worthless to him now, which means he's defenseless."

"But that's good news, isn't it?" Pepper asked.

"Not if their magic goes extinct," Loki said softly.

"The stones are the fabric of the universe," Thor explained. "If their magic goes extinct, they will expunge every aspect of our universe. Time, space, reality, mind, soul, power."

"We need to save them," Loki added. "Before it's too late."

"And you think we're going to be able to do that with the seventh stone?" Tony asked.

"It's the only stone that hasn't been corrupted in the Snap and the only stone that is …" Loki breathed a faint chuckle.

"What is so funny?" Tony hissed.

"Hela," Loki gasped. "She isn't funny per se, but she … she definitely didn't lie to the stones. Being the Goddess of Death wielding it in the name of Death, she had every right to wield this stone. It has not been compromised like the others. Which is why we need it back."


	6. Chapter 6

**Here I am, organizing the 30+ files in my Beyond Mischief folder once again at 1 am. In the author's note of chapter 39, I was hinting at the fact that I had originally planned to let Loki figure everything out by himself before Akira mentioned to me that he might summon Frigga's spirit for support after learning of Thor's bargain. This is the original version. Enjoy.**

* * *

_I cannot believe you really came back here_, the dark voice continued its nerve-wrecking prattling. _Was there truly no other place in all the Nine Realms you could think of?_

Loki's entire body itched to answer the foul fragment of his mind that had kept him such faithful company during the darkest days of his existence but he forced himself to remain silent. Not that it was easy. He had been doomed the second he had silently admitted to himself that he should have listened to it—that he had invited it back into his mind like a scorned woman opening the doors to her abusive lover again—but he knew too that his mind also held the key to lock it back out. He just had to be resilient.

_Resilient? Ha_. _You wish!_

You really thought you don't need me anymore, it continued cheerfully.

Loki surveyed the coast of Norway from where he was sitting on a rock near the cabin he had followed his brother to a few days earlier, pondering his next move. He was painfully aware that he only had a little more than twenty-one hours left before Hela would come to reclaim him—_Cursed be that witch! Who is she to imagine she has any right to possess your soul?_—and that he had only one chance to extricate himself from Thor's foolish bargain.

_Oh, really? And what might that chance be?_

Loki had never truly tried to ignore its poisonous words before—at least not for more than fifteen minutes, after which its demands usually became unbearable—but now he had been ignoring it for the better of an hour and despite everything, he felt rather confident that he could endure it until it finally lapsed into silence again.

A weak chuckle escaped his lips when he remembered that his very first impulse—very much like a survival instinct—when Hela had released him and he had looked straight into Thor's eyes, feeling his brother's hands on his shoulders, had been to wrest himself free and crawl back to the pain and the drainage because the pain was familiar. When Thor had made his speech about belonging, his words lulling Loki into some sense of security, he had thought himself safe for the moment while simultaneously trying to persuade himself that it would not last. That whatever this was, it would only be temporarily. That he would go back, one way or the other. Yet somehow, things had taken a turn for the better and he had found that returning to Hela was longer an option. That he would resist her with every fiber of his being should she appear to reclaim him. He could neither comprehend nor explain why but for the first time since he had learned about his dark lineage all those years ago, he had felt quite at ease in Thor's presence since they had rejoined forces and he was not ready to relinquish his hold on that sensation. Not if there was any other way.

_He betrayed you_, snarled the dark voice. _He bargained away your __**life**__!_ _He clearly does not care whether you live or die! Why would you—_

_See, this is where you are wrong, _Loki finally answered but nonetheless feeling empowered when he did. _This is where you have __**always**__ been wrong_. _Thor is a nitwit, yes_. _The worst kind of nitwit, I agree_, _but he never once wished harm upon anyone_._ It is not in his nature_. _He would __**never**__ want me to suffer_. _Thor does not want __**anyone**__ to suffer_. _Not ever_. _The only reason he agreed to that bargain_—and here Loki laughed genuinely—_is because he truly thought I would make it right_.

_You are a fool if you truly believe—_

Loki shot to his feet and ignored the voice once more as he gazed at the Space Stone he had used to teleport himself away from the Avengers compound with a newfound interest.

_Which I will_.

The dark voice snorted. _And just how are you going to do that? What is this chance you were speaking of?_

_Oh, please_, Loki snorted back. _You are nothing but a product of my mind_. _If you truly know me so well, I am sure you will be able to figure it out for yourself_.

The voice grumbled softly but then it finally fell silent.

_Things will turn out just fine this time_, Loki assured himself in his own voice. _I know they will_. Yet, first of all, there was still a decent meal he craved and he would be damned if he did not allow himself this small comfort at least before he set out to clean up another one of Thor's messes.


	7. Chapter 7

**So, here's another, because why not? I had parts of the conversation with Hela in chapter 41/42 written out long before I got to this part of the story (it's probably been waiting on my laptop to be used since summer), so the set-up was still a bit different. I imagined Hela to know more and I also thought the Avengers would face her together before deciding on the whole Hela-is-actually-dead-and-she-can't-come-to-reclaim-them-in-the-flesh-so-they-would-have-to-go-to-Niflheim-where-mortals-cannot-go kind of narrative. Anyway, this is the original.**

* * *

"But I thought—" Thor stammered, thinking back to how she had called the stone a very powerful piece of jewelry and then watched it with a curiosity that had created the impression she had never seen it before. Had she truly deceived him so easily?

"You'd better not try to think, Thor," Hela interrupted him. "It is clearly something you are not very good at. Let me ask you some questions instead. Where do you think this stone is suddenly coming from? Who do you think kept it safe all those years? Who do you think spread the rumor that there are only six of them? How do you think Odin managed to conquer the Nine Realms? Where do you think the Odinforce came from? Or the Bifrost? Or Heimdall's ability to see ten trillion souls, huh, _Mighty Thor_,_ Protector of the Realms_?"

"Odin had all the Infinity Stones in his possession at one point," said Loki so casually as if this was common knowledge among Asgardians. "The Bifrost is a culmination of their powers. Time, space, reality, power, soul. Heimdall had the power of the Soul Stone inside of him just as I had the magic of the Reality Stone inside of me. Gungnir had the force of the Power Stone inside of it and the list probably goes on."

"See? This one is smart," Hela noted. "You could have learned a lot from him."

"But … the seventh stone …"

"Oh, my dear dull-witted brother," Hela interrupted him, "please, let me lend you a machete for your intellectual thicket. This stone here is the life insurance of our universe. It is the one stone who controls the fate of all the others."

"Like the One Ring or what?" Tony mused.

"What ring?" asked Hela. "Andvari's ring? It's nowhere near that powerful."

"The Ring of Power," Rogers provided. "It's a, well, a fantasy story."

"About what?"

"About rings of power given out to all the races of the world," Steve explained. "Elves, dwarfs, men. But there was an evil master who betrayed them all by forging a master ring that enslaved all the others."

"That sounds like a cheap copy of Asgardian lore but I suppose this is all you mortals are capable of," Hela commented dryly. "Anyway, Odin kept it sealed in a dimension he created for the sole purpose of the stone's protection deep beneath the vaults of Asgard."

"Beneath the Odinsword," Loki guessed.

Hela rubbed her hands. "At least one of you is following."

"Dude, did this guy put his name on everything?" Rocket noted dryly.

"He was quite a narcissistic old prick that way," Valkyrie provided.

"So when we destroyed Asgard, the sword was destroyed, too," Thor mumbled. Finally, it was all beginning to make sense. "The blade was removed from the scabbard and caused the end of Asgard." Well, not all of it was making sense. "But the sword belonged to Surtur! Why didn't he claim it back?"

"That was a beautiful myth, wasn't it? Odin and his brothers bring back Surtur's blade and guard it in the Realm Eternal and so long as nobody moves the sword, the power balance of the universe remains intact. But move it as much as half an inch and the power balance of the universe begins to shift, creating cracks in the fabric of reality, and Surtur will come and reclaim his blade, which heralds the beginning of Ragnarok." She chuckled. "His allies will steal the sun and moon from the sky and devour them whole. Everything will turn dark. All lies, my dear princelings. All lies."

"Not entirely, it seems," Loki observed. "He used a lie to tell the truth."

Hela's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"What truth?" asked Thor.

"Ragnarok," Loki sighed.

"What is Ragnarok, again?" asked Tony.

"The twilight of the Gods, a prophesied apocalyptic event in which Asgard is destroyed and all beings in the Nine Realms perish, so that the circle of life in the Nine Realms can begin anew," Valkyrie elaborated. "And Asgard is already destroyed. Most of the Gods are dead."

"And half the universe is gone already," Tony added in a broken, toneless whisper. His eyes were open wide as he tried to process the kind of information that posed a threat to the sanity of any mortal mind. "But that …"

"But what does that have to with the seventh stone or the Odinsword?" Thor asked.

"Upon destroying Asgard, we freed the Seventh Stone, brother," Loki said on a sigh. "I should guess that the blade was held in place by some kind of spell that was linked to Odin's and, by extension, Asgard's life-force. Even if someone _had_ tried to move it, they wouldn't have been able to. But Odin's death and Asgard's destruction broke the spell."

"Tsk." Hela inspected him curiously. "You really are a sly bastard. If you hadn't laid waste to Asgard and weren't so incredibly bothersome, I might even be inclined to like you." She nodded appreciatively. "How did you do that, hm? How did you shield all that knowledge that you possess about the Infinity Stones from me?"

"That is going to remain my secret," Loki replied.

"But how is the seventh stone going to cause Ragnarok?" Thor repeated.

"Growing up with such a nitwit must have been so incredibly frustrating," Hela said to Loki.

"Be glad that you weren't around for the early days," Loki returned. "No offense, brother."

Hela chuckled. "The only power of this stone—well, except for containing its own very entertaining death dimension, of course—is to reunite all the other Infinity Stones, cause the rebirth of Nemesis and thereby erase all existence in a universe that has been created only through her demise," she concluded. Her humor died as she glared at Loki. "Which means that you can't have it; unless you wish to bring what you started to a close and fulfill the prophecy in its entirety."

Loki frowned. "Why me?"

"Because all of this, it is _your_ doing, isn't it? If you had not tried to bind your spirit to the Space Stone upon your death, the seventh stone would not have sucked you in, Thor would not have rescued you, nobody would have known of the stone's existence and everyone would have been safe."

"And the Tangler is going to bring forth the Twilight of the Gods," whispered Valkyrie.

Loki's eyes narrowed. "Will you stop quoting that accursed prophecy?"

"Despite all his shortcomings, Odin was wise enough to keep the stone hidden to ensure the continued existence of this universe," Hela went on as if the exchange between Valkyrie and Loki had not taken place. "Even though he apparently went soft when he decided to take in the spawn of a giant and raise him as his own despite his knowledge of both the giants' natural inclination towards deceit and the prophecy you hate so much."

"Maybe that is precisely why he did it," Valkyrie speculated. "To make sure that Loki would not grow up to fulfil his destiny, which means that Odin helped the prophecy along by trying to prevent it."

"Yeah, prophecies are nasty that way." Hela chuckled. "Be that as it may, I think you will all agree that you can't have this stone, so I'd suggest we all go back to how things were." A fifty-inch jagged blade shot out of the palm of her skin, gleaming in the sunlight like the fangs of a hungry dragon. She examined the blade with a feral glint of anticipation in her icy eyes before she held it out to Thor. "Now, are you going to fulfill your end of the bargain or do I have to claim my prize?"

Thor's stomach dropped but Loki did not even flinch. "How can you be certain it is not you who is being deceived by false talk?"

Hela's forehead twisted into an annoyed frown. "Nice try. You belong to me and neither your wits not your false tongue can protect you from the oath your brother so foolishly swore to me. You know as well as I do that an oath uttered by a God is binding."

The Avengers stirred nervously.

"Either Thor kills you here and now," she continued, focusing him with her intense stare, "or I will claim Thor and one of _them_." Her eyes landed on Tony and she smiled a ferocious smile. "You do seem like someone whose agony I would love to feast on."

Tony gulped but said nothing and Thor felt both his body and mind going into momentary paralysis. How could he possibly make that decision? How could he ever decide between his friends and his brother? _Loki needs me, Valkyrie_. _He doesn't have anyone else_._ He's always needed me but I've never been there and the worst thing is that none of us would be here right now if I had_._ From now on, I'm going to put my family first and if that means that I am going to lose everyone else in the long run, even you, well, I'm willing to risk that_. Was he, really? All be damned, of course he wasn't!

"Come on, Hela," Loki mocked, seemingly unperturbed by her threat while every fiber in Thor's body strained with uneasiness. The others watched in silence. "You and I both know that Odin was better at deception than any giant, including me, could ever hope to be."

Hela's face was unreadable. "You are stalling."

"Of course I am stalling," Loki snapped. "My life is at stake after all. But my point is—and you will certainly agree with me once you heard me out—is this: You can only _assume_ that the rebirth of Nemesis will erase the existence of our universe."

Hela's composure slipped ever so slightly. "What makes you think that you are smarter than the Allfather himself?"

Loki smiled at her, his eyes sparkling with malicious humor. "Let us face the truth here. There is only _one_ thing we all know for certain and that is that Odin was a ruthless liar and a masterful deceiver. The best in all the Realms, I dare say. He lied to all of us. He lied to you, to Frigga, to Thor, to me, to his counsel; he was never straightforward about matters of this sort. He would have told you anything to stabilize his position as the Allfather."

Hela sniffed. "You're one to talk, Laufeyson."

Loki took a step towards her, his lips curled into a mischievous grin. "What if the rebirth of Nemesis does not lead to our universe's destruction? Or even better: What if the entire prophecy of Ragnarok was a fiction conceived by Odin himself to keep everyone in check, including you? What if Nemesis has never existed and there were seven stones from the very beginning?"

Hela hissed. "The prophecy foretold—"

"The prophecy foretold a series of events that Odin him_self_ set in motion," Loki reminded her and Thor felt his mouth gape open in surprise. "What better way is there to keep your subjects in line than the threat of certain death? And he found the perfect way to cause just enough disturbance to make them believe it might truly happen, did he not? He took in the abandoned child of his archenemy and raised it as his own while going out of his way to make sure that said child never felt as if it truly belonged. Making sure to fill it with dark thoughts of envy and rage, making sure it would grow into someone that caused just enough turmoil to start whispers among the Asgardians that 'The Tangler' might be real. And if The Tangler was real, so must be the prophecy."

Hela surveyed him suspiciously, her icy blue eyes in narrow slits. "You're bluffing, Laufey-scum. Asgard has fallen. Ragnarok is upon us. The prophecy is real. Whether you like or not."

"Is it really?" Loki asked. "Then how can it be that none of the Gods died the way they were prophesied to die? How can it be that Surtur's fires did not devour _all_ the Nine Realms? How can it be that the three of us are still here? The four of us, if you include the Valkyrie?"

Hela's face twisted into a deep frown.

"How can it be," Loki finished with a condescending sneer, "that the prophecy you cling to so desperately failed to mention either Nemesis or this stone in your hand if it plays _such_ a crucial role in the destruction of the universe?"

Hela said nothing.

"I tell you why," Loki said. "Because prophecies are just lies told by those in power in order to control the destiny of others. Because prophecies are specific enough not to be discarded and vague enough to associate all sorts of events with it. You knew of The Tangler and Valkyrie did, too, long before I was even _born_. And let us dwell on that name for a second, yes? What kind of name is that? The Tangler?" Loki gave a silvery laugh. "This could have been anyone. A giant, a sorceress, a seer, a Norn—who knows? Odin did not know at the time but it did not matter. He later found someone he could mold into a Tangler alongside his worthy hero son."

Thor felt like he'd received his own hammer throw into the gut.

"I should guess he did not know about the stones yet either when the prophecy was first delivered but he fixed that too, by telling you the lie of Nemesis's existence while keeping the stone secret from the rest of the worlds, so that nobody would come for it." Loki chuckled again. He was in his element now, enjoying himself in a way that Thor had not witnessed in what felt like an eternity. "After all, who searches for something that doesn't exist, right? But most importantly, he made sure that you, greedy and war-hungry as you were, would never dare to seek out its power or speak of its existence to anyone, lest Ragnarok consumes you with the rest of Asgard. He knew his little girl was eating the lies right out the palm of his hands."

"You shut up," Hela warned but Thor could see that she was not only enraged but also intrigued.

"But then he banished you, of course, which made you not only furious but also a little suspicious of whatever he told you before he so recklessly discarded you, am I right? And then, even when he knew you were going to come back, he did not bother to tell us about the stone because he knew how it was going to end. He knew that Thor would be powerless against you but he also knew that Thor was going to destroy Asgard and save its people before he let _you_ rule it."

Thor laughed incredulously. "He was the one who suggested to me that we should evacuate our people and destroy Asgard when he appeared to me in a vision."

"See?" Loki giggled. "He knew that after he banished her, Hela would go right after the one thing that he'd told her not to touch."

"That's enough!" Hela growled, swinging her blade into Loki's direction. "I'm going to rip you apart, you little turd of Jotun dung!"

Loki repelled her blow with the scepter, that malicious smile still playing upon his lips. "He knew you well enough to be sure that you would greedily take the stone; assured that you have finally prevailed over him. Assured that, now that he is dead and you are in possession of it, _you_ would think yourself the most powerful being in the universe."

Hela stood frozen, aghast.

Loki straightened his posture and smiled a venomously sweet smile. A sparkle of orange was illuminating his red eyes. "The mighty Hela, Goddess of Death, finally holding the key to prevent Ragnarok in her own hands, controlling the fate of the _entire_ universe. I must say, that is quite an omnipotence phantasy you are nurturing there." He giggled. "The only problem is, Ragnarok is _just_ a prophecy and you are nothing more than Odin's fool."

"This can't be," hissed Hela but she was clearly under the spell of Loki's Mind Stone enhanced silver tongue.

"Oh, it is. Believe me when I say, we have all been there. Well, _I _certainly have," Loki assured her in a voice dripping with feigned empathy. "Odin was a master deceiver. He had everyone enchanted. It truly is not your fault. But it is never too late to free yourself of his influence," Loki continued, the glint in his eyes having her visibly mesmerized. "To forsake the path he laid out for you."

Hela's face articulated a thousand question marks. Thor held his breath in suspense when he finally realized where his brother was going.

"But I guess that is not what you want, is it?" Loki sneered. "To finally be free of him?"

"Why would you say that?" Hela spat.

"Because you are still holding on to the one last thing that he used to control your actions,'" Loki pointed out. "That stone right there," he emphasized as he gestured towards it with a sardonic smile, "is basically a token of your subjugation."

Hela growled like a hellhound. Loki took a step towards her. "Don't you want to be rid of it? Don't you want to be rid of your shame?"

She growled again but Loki had her trapped as if she was an insect caught in a spider web. "Let go," he whispered, almost seductively. "Let go of your past shame. Let go of his hold over you."

Much to Thor's surprise and, seemingly, against her own will, Hela eventually did drop the stone, almost as if she was acting on instinct. Loki reacted with lightning speed and lunged at her, creating a distraction. Thor understood and sprang forward. While Hela was defending herself against Loki's sudden attack, Thor picked up the stone and held it between his thumb and index finger. "Well, _that_ was very foolish of you, _sister_."

"You miserable worms!" Hela howled. "You are going to die!" She conjured another weapon and lunged forward. "I am going to kill all of you right where you stand!"


	8. Chapter 8

**And here's a few more that aren't fully elaborated scenes but snippets of dialogue containing exchanges that I would hate to see going to waste, so I am going to publish them here even if they aren't fully (or even remotely) fleshed out and most of you wouldn't even know what to do with them anyway :)  
**

* * *

**1) A conversation originally planned for the Norway chapters:**

"It does bother me," Thor began reluctantly, indicating his brother's Jotun appearance with a movement of his hand. "I don't want it to but it does. I don't know why."

"Because you are racist," Loki whispered but to Thor's surprise, there was no hostility or anger in his voice.

"I'm not—"

"We both grew up believing in the superiority of the Asgardian race. This is not your fault."

"Oh, this isn't my fault? That's one thing at least."

"Please, stop jesting," Loki pleaded. "Your humor exhausts me."

Thor knew it was time to _cut the bullshit_, as Tony Stark would say. He could not fool his brother anyway. Loki was far too perceptive and far too intelligent and if Thor truly wanted to heal the rift between them, it was time to stop pretending because Loki would figure out the truth eventually and he would only hate him more if he found out that Thor had been lying to him. "Cards on the table, then?" Thor asked.

"Cards on the table," Loki demanded. "_All_ of them."

Thor gave a nod. He'd expected all along that Loki had somehow been involved in the Kurse's assault upon Asgard and it didn't change anything. Not anymore. He had seen the hurt in Loki's eyes only moments before and he knew that if Loki had been in any way responsible for Frigga's death, he deeply regretted it and that was punishment enough. "I'm sorry."

"Me too." Loki had spoken in such a low voice that Thor wasn't sure he'd heard right. A heavy silence crept over them and for a few moments, they just stood there, surveying each other as if they were seeing the other for the first time.

* * *

**2) Part of the arrival at the Avengers compound when I still thought Loki and Thor would arrive by themselves:**

"Last time I saw you, you looked a little more … human," Tony Stark mumbled as he surveyed Loki, narrowing his eyes at his blue skin.

"I told you he was adopted." Thor gave a shrug.

Valkyrie cast a look at Thor that had just a touch of frustration in it. "But you never said he wasn't Asgardian."

"You never asked," Thor replied. Valkyrie punished him with a look.

"As you can see, I am from Jotunheim," Loki clarified.

"Jotunheim," Valkyrie echoed, incredulously. "But you're not a Frost Giant?"

"I am."

"But Frost Giants are _huge_," Valkyrie countered, her lips parting in surprise.

"Hence, why they're referred to as _giants_, I assume," Tony remarked dryly.

"They're huge and hideous and ugly with horns and everything. You are," she paused for a beat, "only blue."

She was paying him half a compliment but all Loki could hear was, _You are not a real Frost Giant_. _You do not fit in with them either. You are tiny compared to their enormous size, you are delicate, and you have smooth skin and … Wait_. "She just said I wasn't ugly, did she not?"

"Yes," Valkyrie said, drawing the word out. "But I didn't say you were pretty either."

Loki curled his lips into a half-grin.

* * *

**3) This was part of it, too, somehow, although I don't remember how:**

"Besides, I could really do with some acknowledgment of my qualities," Loki jested.

"Oh yeah?" Valkyrie quipped. "And I always thought you got quite enough acknowledgment of your qualities in the Grandmaster's chambers."

Loki felt his heart jump a little but he discovered that his Jotun body was apparently incapable of sensing the hot rush of embarrassment other bodies suffered from and he was thankful for that much at least.

"What? What does that mean?" Thor asked and Loki felt his brother's eyes burning on his skin as soon as the words were out, hanging in the air like thunder clouds on a heavy summer evening.

"Well," Valkyrie started but Loki slightly shook his head at her, mouthing a _no_. This was not the right time—and he doubted there would _ever_ be a right time—to talk about Sakaar in his brother's presence. Valkyrie pressed her lips together in compliance with his silent request but the flicker in her eyes told him she would hold the secret over his head if need be and that she would enjoy it beyond all measure.

"It doesn't mean anything really," Valkyrie said. "I was just joking."

* * *

**4) **** A conversation ******originally part of chapter** 23 when they were debating if Loki could host the energy of the Mind Stone:**

"There's still a chance it doesn't kill him," Stark was saying. "Think about it. If he's already soaked up all those magical signatures, he might have built up a tolerance. Like, when you're not used to it and drink a bottle of booze, you will probably die, but if you've built up a tolerance, you can drink two bottles a day and be relatively okay—like, okay as in not dying."

Thor stared at his friend in utter confusion, his eyebrows drawing together in a frown. "What the hell are you talking about now?"

"This is about the worst comparison _ever_," grumbled Steve Rogers.

"It's not, actually," Valkyrie objected. "Magic can be as poisonous to the unexperienced sorcerer as actual poison but with practice comes resilience."

"Enough resilience to withstand Infinity Stone magic?" asked Nebula.

* * *

**5) ****A converation originally ********part of**** chapter 28 after Valkyrie punched Loki after he told them he loves to make things difficult:**

"Are you even hearing yourself?" Natasha yelled. "Your chaotic irrational decisions are going to condemn us all to death!"

Loki scrambled to his feet and made a show of brushing imaginary dust from his clothes. "Don't you dare to speak of chaos that way. Do you not realize that the notions of truth and order you value so highly would be worth nothing without the existence of their opposites, which I happen to be the God of? The least you can do is show me a little respect."

"Okay, now you're getting weird," Rocket grumbled.

"_Now_?" grumbled Clint.

* * *

**6) A conversation originally part of ****chapter 37/38 when they discussed their options during/after Thor made his confession:**

"But how," the Widow began, her voice trailing off at the sheer outrageousness of their entire situation. "The stones clearly communicate with other people." She glanced at Loki. "Why can we not just …"

"The stones communicate, yes," Loki relented, "but magic is … Well, you do remember how Mjölnir used to operate, don't you?" He looked around. "That hammer had a _spell_ cast upon it. _Whosoever holds this hammer__, __if he be worthy__, __shall possess the power of Thor_," he recited with a pang in his heart. "My point is," Loki continued when he saw their puzzled expressions, "the hammer chose who got to wield it. The stones choose too. They have their own conscience and they will—"

"How convenient then," snarled Barton, "that they choose _you_ of all people to communicate with."

Loki felt the anger rise in the pit of his stomach. "Don't you fret, Barton," he snarled back before he could stop himself. "The Mind Stone chose you too back in the day, didn't it?"

Anger flickered in the archer's eyes and when he raised his hand, Loki did not nothing to stop him even though he saw the blow coming from miles away. Thor gurgled a half-hearted warning but it was too late. Clint Barton's hand slammed against Loki's cheek and the archer howled in pain when the bones in his hand splintered against Loki's cheekbones.

"What?" Rogers exclaimed.

"I think he just broke his wrist," Valkyrie explained flatly. "We are, well, Asgardians are very strong."

* * *

**And then here's a few very random scenes that I just found but don't remember where and how they were supposed to fit into the story:**

Thor was looking at Nebula, still thinking about all the time she had spent in the Avengers facility in the weeks following the devastating war; about how often she had sat with the rest of them; connected through an invisible emotional bond woven from sadness, loss and the need for revenge. During all that time, she had never once mentioned to him that she knew of Loki and his struggles even though she had witnessed his decent into genocidal madness firsthand. Rocket was right that digging around in the past would not help them in their present predicament but he could still feel a slight rage tremble beneath his skin.

* * *

"Dammit, you _really_ need a shrink," Tony mumbled.

"What is a shrink?" Loki asked.

"It's slang for a professionally trained person who establishes a therapeutic relationship with an individual suffering from emotional problems in order to help alleviate or modify troublesome thoughts, memories, emotional reactions and/or behavior patterns."

"Therapeutic relationship," Loki echoed quietly.

"Yes, therapy," Tony confirmed. "A verbal interaction between you and such a professionally trained person, who helps you access and reassess your chaotic, unbearable and fragmented memories."

Loki's eyes opened wide. "Without using magic?"

Tony snorted a laugh. "Of course, dipshit."

"They're more evolved here than we ever gave them credit for," Thor conceded.

* * *

"How come _he_ made that connection four years ago and you had no idea until now?" Stark asked Thor.

"Because I have been endowed with a cunning intellect while Thor is prone to resolving conflict with his fists." Loki smirked at him. "No offense, brother."

* * *

"Not speaking would really be a good look for the two of you," Clint snapped.

Loki's mouth opened in protest but then closed again as soon as Nebula glowered at him before fixing her gaze on Tony. "Seriously, what _is_ it with you two?"

"Don't even bother. This has been going on ever since we landed in Norway." Rocket gave a shrug. "They're probably having a crush on each other or something."

Both Loki and Tony gasped in that kind of how-dare-you-way but said nothing.

"As we were saying," said Bruce, emphasizing every syllable.

* * *

**Okay, and now I am going back to my next chapter. See you soon, I hope xoxo**


	9. Chapter 9

**Remember when I told you that it took me forever to edit and write chapter 46 because I hated it and the chapter hated me at times? Well, I had different outcomes written for it as well, which made it also difficult, and here are two of them:**

* * *

Version 1:

"And here you are," the stone murmured. "The sons of Odin Allfather, destroyer of my dreams. My disappointment in you cannot be overstated. I placed my hope in you beautiful creatures but you tainted my creation. You corrupted the dream I dreamed. You abused my children. You brought me nothing but sorrow. You ruined everything. This universe cannot continue to exist, which is I will have to take it from you. Things must return to how they were before its dawn."

Before he could catch one coherent thought, the Soul broke free with an outcry of reluctance that Loki could feel in every single one of his bones, hurtled through the room and crashed into the seventh stone. Well, it did not precisely crash, he marveled. It was more as if the seventh stone had suddenly turned liquid, swallowing the Soul, and then the stone grew to the size of a woman's torso.

"Kill it!" screamed Rocket.

"I-I d-don't think we can," stammered Valkyrie.

Mind was as reluctant to surrender as the Soul and Loki felt their resistance but the pull of Nemesis's magic was—_naturally, you imbecile_—far stronger than anything he had ever sensed before. When Nemesis devoured Mind, her face took shape.

[…]

"Last one," Nemesis whispered with a voice as soothing as the waterfall in the garden of the Valkyries. Loki kept the box locking the Reality Stone inside his mind shut with all his might and the shadow of a smile scurried over Nemesis's lips when she encountered the full strength of his magic but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. A lightning bolt of pain struck his brain and broke Reality's prison open. When the Aether diffused through the molecules of his skin, the pain became so intense that it drove Loki to his knees. The cold returned to his body. He reached for his magic but there was nothing. His glamour was burned down to the last spark.

The others stood rooted to the spot as the Aether hovered in the air for a second and then squiggled towards Nemesis, who opened her mouth and greedily sucked it in, imbibing the last of the ancient forces of infinite destruction and with it the last thread in the fabric of their reality. _Does that mean_ …

_Yes, it does_.

As soon as Nemesis swallowed the Aether's last drop, everything turned dark. Not dark, really. Utterly black. Loki's body became weightless. He heard screams. A hand grabbed his and squeezed it tightly, as if for reassurance. He pulled away and, when he did, he heard Stark gasp, the skin of his good hand burned by Loki's Jotun touch.

"Ragnarok," whispered Pepper. "The end of everything."

"But Ragnarok is just a prophecy, right?" asked Stark, his voice lost in the nothingness of space that no longer existed. "Right?!"

Loki drew in a sharp breath. "Well, that was more of a wild guess, really."

"A _wild guess_?" Rogers shrieked.

"It seems he told a lie to tell the truth," Loki murmured, his body slowly recovering from the pain.

"That bastard," Thor grumbled breathlessly.

"That accursed old bastard," Valkyrie concurred.

"So, he never wanted a successor, huh?" asked Bruce. "It was more of an 'if-I-can't-have-that-power-nobody-can' type of thing?"

"That accursed old bastard," Thor said again, through clenched teeth this time, his voice vibrating with anger.

"How can it be the end of everything though," Rocket exclaimed, "if we're still talking?"

"Are we dead?" asked Shuri.

"Not yet," the voice of Nemesis rang out from somewhere far away and everywhere at once, like a cacophony of demons chattering in the depths of Hel. "This is how I existed for eons before I dreamed your universe into being. The universe you ruined with your weakness and your greed and your hatred. And now, you shall perish!"

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Version 2:

"Oh fuck, it's really talking," Rocket gasped.

"Aesir, Valkyries, giants, little ones, animals," said the stone. "I placed my hope in you beautiful creatures, all of you, but you tainted my creation. You befouled the dream I dreamed. You abused my children, tormented them, corrupted them. You blighted my universe and now things must return to how they were before its dawn."

_Oh no_, Loki thought. His mind almost tripped over itself when Reality stirred inside of him and the Soul Stone began to flicker in the demolished Infinity Gauntlet, struggling against the magical pull rising in the air. "It was not us who tainted your children," he shouted even though his whole body was shaking with fear before this ancient force. "It was _your_ children who tainted _us_!"

The stone trembled, shaking the palace's foundation. "You dare to raise your voice against _me_, Loki of Asgard? You dare to _insult_ me? Your body shall no longer harbor what is mine!"

Loki held on to the latch of the box containing the Reality Stone inside his mind with all his might but it was useless—of course it was—because Nemesis was stronger than him and before he could think anything else, a lightning bolt of pain struck his brain and broke Reality's prison open. When the Aether diffused through the molecules of his skin, the pain became so intense that it drove Loki to his knees. Stark slid down beside him, reaching for his ungloved hand. Loki startled, jerking away. The cold returned to his body and his pale skin darkened into sapphire. He reached for his magic but, again, if by illusion or fact, his glamour had burned out.

The others stood rooted to the spot as the Aether hovered in the air for a second and then squiggled towards the seventh stone, which greedily sucked it in and imbibed the ancient force of infinite destruction with what sounded almost like a slurp.

The stone grew in the air, turning from a little gem into the size of a grown woman's torso, and the reality around them began to fade.

"It's happening again," murmured Nebula.

"I shall have back my dream," the stone whispered.

Loki swallowed as he mentally held on to the gauntlet and tried to bind their signatures to his own, knowing that all his attempts were futile. One by one, the stones broke free of Shuri's gauntlet. One by one, the seventh stone ate them.

The first was Power. Arms, legs, and a head began to grow from the stone, black crystal paling into blue skin, and the matter on which they stood began to crumble.

The second was Space. Hair sprouted from the faceless head of the being, long black locks flowing down its back, and gravity was no more. Screams of horror filled the room.

"Please don't take the Soul Stone," cried Barton. He was holding the demolished Infinity Gauntlet, clutching it to his chest, as the fabric of the universe around them unraveled at a dazzling speed. "It must give our families back!"

The third was Time. Thin lips, black eyes with stars sparkling in them and a slender nose appeared on the face, and, then, everything turned dark once more. More screams of naked terror filled the, well, the void and their echo was swallowed by the nothingness of space that no longer existed.

The Mind Stone remained on the gauntlet as Nemesis halted for a moment, breathing greedily. Loki could not imagine the feeling of finally being again after fourteen _billion_ years of captivity inside a tiny gem. But then again, there would be no reality left to enjoy for her.

"No!" cried Barton, his voice breaking. "Nooooooooooo!"

_You must show her_, Loki pleaded with the Mind Stone. _You must_. _I am begging you_. _Show her the truth_. _SHOW HER_! Mind stirred in protest at first but then the stone complied and a cacophony of voices poured into the nothingness, voices speaking of the desire to possess, to kill, to destroy, to enslave, to mow down entire civilizations like wheat in a field; Odin's voice, Thanos's voice, and the voices of many, many others. "_I_ did that to them," said the Mind Stone and Loki was no less astonished than the mortals were when he heard its voice outside of his own head. "I filled their thoughts with poison."

"Why?" gasped Nemesis.

"Because I enjoyed it," replied the Mind Stone. "And because I needed a mind I could devour and a body that I could make my own."

"You too shall return to me promptly," said Nemesis, her voice like a sad song. Magic roared through the void. Mind screamed and then, Loki guessed, Nemesis ate her fifth child. "I erred," she whispered and he could hear that she was licking her lips. "How could I err so terribly?"

"You did not," said Thor and by the confident sound of his voice, he was drawing himself to his full height; if that was at all possible without gravity. "Oh, Nemesis, Goddess of all Gods, may I ask you for a chance to speak?"

_Oh, please no_, thought Loki.

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**The second one is the one I actually wanted to use for what is now chapter 49 when they converse with Nemesis but then I found the concept of them talking to a stone and trying to convince a stone too weird to go with, which is why I changed it to them talking to a projection of her that eats the stones. Even though, I have to admit that I still find this one a little more stylish; it's just that it didn't go all too well with the whole trying to convince her thing because I needed facial expressions and stuff. **


	10. Chapter 10

**At first, I also planned for them to read the book of Nemesis together, or rather, Thor reading it to them, and I have a whole 4k words chapter written like this. I won't post it here in its entirety again because it is basically the same content about what happened to Nemesis but the Avengers reacting to it was quite fun and this exchange I am particularly fond of, so here it is:**

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As Thor turned the page, they saw a cave grow within the trunk of the World Ash and within that cave grew a well and, from within that a well, emerged the Norns, the three goddesses of fate, who began to weave the threads of fate for men and gods alike. As soon as they took up their work, the Nine Worlds grew from the tree's branches. Asgard, Muspelheim, Jotunheim, Svartalfheim, Alfheim, Niflheim, Nidavellir, Vanaheim and Midgard.

"This is not how our solar system looks like," stammered Shuri. Her hands hovered in the air and she seemed afraid to touch the ancient cosmic projection of the birth of the worlds, which were growing to life from the branches of Yggdrasil like buds on a cherry tree. "That's not … This …"

"It is," said Loki. "Your world—well, planet, if you prefer—is linked to others through the World Tree. But its magic is invisible to you. It has been said that Yggdrasil is so infested with magic that it continuously pulsates, changing from the realm of the corporeal to the realm of the transient in the blink of an eye, never allowing anyone but the most omnipotent of beings to comprehend its immensity. Not even Asgardians see its branches when they travel through space. There was only one place in all the Realms—that we know of—where we could lay eyes upon it and that was in the Hall of Yggdrasil, where Odin channeled the Odinforce through its branches."

"I can't believe that this really is true," whispered Bruce, his face a mask of slightly terrified amazement.

"How can it be," mumbled Stark. "If it were true, _all_ of our research would be worth nothing."

"Don't be so overly dramatic," said Loki, with a half-mocking grin. "Your planet has plenty to offer that no other world has."

Shuri narrowed her eyes. "Such as?"

Loki grimaced. "Junk food?"

"God, you really are the worst," said Bruce.

"Can we stay focused?" asked Romanoff, her eyes silently pleading with them.

Thor gave a nod and read on.

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**By the way, I will probably publish the History of Nemesis in an epilogue, just like the prophecy of the oracle was posted in its entirety in the Gospel of Loki. See y'all later xx**


End file.
